SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (CN) – A group of environmental advocacy groups sued Barstow, Calif., to overturn the city’s approval of a massive rail facility in the Mojave Desert northeast of Los Angeles.
The Sierra Club and three other nonprofits filed a petition petition Wednesday in San Bernardino County Superior Court to set aside the city’s approval of the Barstow International Gateway because they say it is based on a flawed and inadequate analysis of the project’s environmental impact.
“It is unconscionable for a city in this day and age to allow a giant industrial project that will result in so much oil pollution that is harmful to people and the environment,” Seth Alston, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “Barstow needs to go back to the drawing board.”
The 4,500-acre facility will be the largest rail yard in the country. BNSF Railway is investing $4 billion to build the hub to streamline inland transportation of the millions of containers of Asian imports that arrive at the ports of LA and Long Beach each year.
The ports themselves are improving their logistics infrastructure to move more containers from their ports by train in order to reduce the congestion and pollution of the thousands of diesel trucks that arrive every day to pick up containers and haul them to distribution warehouses in the area.
The Barstow project, however, is expected to release more than 550 tons of nitrogen oxide — the pollutant that causes serious health problems — and burn more than 18 million gallons of diesel each year, environmental organizations say.
The project will also increase greenhouse gas emissions by 134,471 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, a 41% increase over existing emissions, they say, citing figures based on faulty assumptions in the city’s environmental impact report.
“This massive rail facility will spew diesel fumes from the San Pedro Bay ports in the Barstow High Desert 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, adding to the dirty air communities have been forced to breathe for decades,” said Yasmine Agelidis, a senior attorney at Earthjustice in the statement.
The nonprofits argue that the city has not adequately analyzed the project’s effect on the Mojave long-toed lizard, the Mojave desert tortoise, the western owl and other special-status wildlife and plants. Further, they claim the city failed to fully analyze the energy, water, noise, cumulative impacts and growth-inducing impacts associated with its approval.
In his June 17 announcement of the project’s approval by the City Council, Barstow said BNSF had committed to zero-emission rail-mounted cranes, hybrid rubber cranes, zero-emission forklifts and carriers, as well as electrical outlets for refrigeration units, as well as a solar farm.
“This approval represents years of thoughtful planning, environmental review, public outreach and coordination,” City Manager Rochelle Clayton said last month. “Project BIG is more than a development project; it is a long-term investment in the future of our community. The City remains committed to ensuring this project moves forward responsibly, with a continued focus on public services, community impacts and sustainable growth.”
A spokesman for the Barstow city manager said they had not yet been served with the lawsuit and had no immediate comment.
Lena Kent, general manager of public relations at BNSF Railway, said in a statement that the Barstow International Gateway project is a critical infrastructure investment that has strong local, regional and state support.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom certified the project under SB 149, landmark legislation to improve infrastructure development in California, underscoring its statewide importance, Kent said. The project is also specifically identified in the adopted California State Rail Plan for 2024 as a key component of improving freight movement and supply chain efficiency, she added.
“While we are disappointed by this legal challenge and its misrepresentation of the technologies that BNSF will apply to this project, we remain confident in the thorough and transparent environmental review conducted by the City of Barstow,” Kent said. “The CEQA document reflects extensive analysis, public engagement and compliance with applicable legal requirements.”
The nonprofits claim the city’s approval of the project violated the California Environmental Quality Act, and they are seeking a court order to vacate its approval.
The organizations are represented by attorneys from Earthjustice, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity.
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